The Times review....***** KlangHaus at Summerhall, Edinburgh Donald Hutera Summerhall, a venue that seems to thrive on taking risks, is a former veterinary college and hospital. Tailor-made for a particular building off the venue’s courtyard, KlangHaus is one of those experiences that only the Fringe can dish up. This collaboration between the British band the Neutrinos and the artist Sal Pittman could be pegged as a multimedia art-rock installation gig. However you describe it, it’s a blast of aural and visual magic and one of the most energising shows I’ve seen this month. Twice a day, a small audience is invited to explore an upstairs location accessed via a lift. The place is set up as an odd combination of clinic and recording studio. There are rooms of various sizes, but none are large. In some the shadows are cut through by shafts of light from projectors casting images both hard white and colour-splintered. Several rooms contain cages or cubicles fronted by thick iron bars — ideal for the percussionist Jeron Gunderson to bang upon. Abetted by Jon Baker (bass, electronics, voice), the slippery, bearded guitarist and vocalist Mark Howe leads us into other spaces where eventually we come upon Karen Reilly, a gimlet-eyed singer with a mischievous smile. The intimate, enigmatic atmosphere created by Pittman and the band is alive with rhythm, possibility and pleasure. A large part of the high-voltage fun comes from our proximity to the musicians. It helps, of course, that the noise the Neutrinos make is a wonderfully varied, driven mix of rock, blues, neo-disco and post-punk with strong hooks that enter your bloodstream and lyrics that stick in your mind. Sometimes loud but always engaging, KlangHaus is a joy-inducing original. Box office: 0131 560 1581, to Aug 24
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 07:52:44 +0000